Final Presentation: The Gaelic Peers, The Tudor Sovereigns, and The English Multiple Monarchy

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Authenticity and Commercialization: Traditional Irish Music’s Balancing Act

In our capitalist society, music has become a decidedly financial endeavor as significant monetary resources are essential in not only the creation and distribution of most mainstream music, but also in the exhibition of a lifestyle which mainstream audiences find desirable. In the scope of Irish society, this can be seen in how the emergence of significant demand, alongside increased commercial viability, has impacted and influenced the development of Irish music in recent decades. This impact can be seen most clearly in the gradual professionalization of the Irish musician, the trade-off these musicians face in balancing authenticity and commercial success, and the change in instrumentation and equipment in the continuing Irish music tradition. While modern-day Ireland would be considered by many to be a prosperous, wealthy nation, traditional Irish music mostly originates from a time of relative poverty in Ireland. As a result of this, a lack of financial resource

Album Review: Say a Song by Joseph Heaney

Joe Heaney is a widely renowned sean-nós singer who was born in raised in Connemara, a region in County Galway. His album, titled “’Say a Song’: Joe Heaney in the Pacific Northwest,” is composed of nineteen songs written in either English or Irish and performed by Joe Heaney. This music would fall under the genre of traditional Irish music or, more specifically, sean-nós singing. Upon an initial listen through of this album, it is easy to find the unrefined or raw quality of the music, both in its performance and its recording, to be distracting. However, once the listener becomes comfortable with the casual but composed manner in which the music is performed, they can begin to uncover details in the songs which had gone unnoticed before. These details, such as Joe Heaney’s utilization of ornamentation to build up to and sustain emotional peaks, lead to a great admiration for the authenticity and individual skill with which the music is performed. Joe Heaney, or Seo

Article Review: Translation through the Macaronic: Gearóid Mac Lochlainn's Sruth Teangacha / Stream of Tongues

The article “Translation through the Macaronic: Gearóid Mac Lochlainn's Sruth Teangacha / Stream of Tongues” primarily addresses the struggle that Gaelic poets face in deciding whether to translate their works into English or to publish their works exclusively in Irish. This issue is analyzed through the scope of Mac Lochlainn’s work as an author and his decision to offer English translations with some of his later works. The primary argument that is made in favour of offering English translations to the works of Irish authors is that the potential readership is expanded greatly by using a more widespread language. By utilizing the English language to gain popularity and readership of their work, many Irish authors are worried that their work will lose authenticity by accepting “the colonial tongue that has almost supplanted their language.” However, in using English translations and publishing their works in dual-language editions, authors can appeal to readers who

Nicholas Harding Bradley - IRLL Archive

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